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Number 410 Current Information from the OSCE PA International Secretariat 16 November 2011 Preparation under way for 2012 economic conference in Batumi, On the invitation of the Georgian Parliament, the OSCE Parliament Assembly Economic Conference will take place in Batumi from 12 to 14 May 2012. In preparation for the meeting, Secretary General Spencer Oliver and Senior Counsellor Semyon Dzakhaev visited Georgia from 14 to 16 November. Hosted by the Vice-Chairman of the Georgian Parliament, George Tsereteli, Spencer Oliver and Semyon Dzakhaev met in with the Secretary General of the Georgian Parliament David Janiashvili, the Georgian Delegation to the OSCE PA, and other officials. The meetings focused on a range of details related to the Economic Conference including logistics, where it was agreed that the Georgian Overlooking the , Secretary General Spencer Oliver and George Tsereteli in Batumi, Georgia. air company Georgian Airways will arrange direct charter Mr. Oliver and Mr. Dzakhaev expressed their satisfaction flights from to Batumi on Friday, 11 May and back to and conviction that the conference will be well organized and Vienna on Monday, 14 May. that Batumi’s location – on the shores of the Black Sea just In Batumi, assisted by Mr. Tsereteli and Karlo Tskitishvili, a few kilometres from the Georgia-Turkey border – will be the Head of the International Relations Department of the a perfect setting for discussions on economic development. Georgian Parliament, Mr. Oliver visited prospective conference Rapid modernization and renovation of the historic sea port venues and hotel accommodations for participants. They also has made Batumi an attractive destination for tourists as well met with Batumi Mayor Robert Chkhaidze and city officials. as a regional hub for commerce and transportation.

Mecacci addresses Human Dimension Committee ahead of Ministerial Council In a continuation of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s efforts to increase co-operation with the OSCE’s governmental side in Vienna, Matteo Mecacci, chair of the OSCE PA’s Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, met with his counterpart committee Monday and outlined several ways the upcoming Ministerial Council could benefit from parliamentary input. Addressing the OSCE’s Human Dimension Committee meeting, Mr. Mecacci () drew attention to the work of the OSCE PA on democracy and human rights, including its long history leading election observation missions. He urged diplomats in Vienna to draft Ministerial decisions that Matteo Mecacci (Italy) speaks to the Human Dimension Committee in Vienna. show the political priorities of our organization are “in direct He encouraged the ambassadors “to think of us as an integral connection with the problems faced by our people.” part of the discourse in the run-up to .” Draft decisions related to the protection of journalists, “Through our annual resolutions, we aim to foster debate ensuring freedom of expression, national human rights among legislators from 55 participating States to advance the institutions and combating discrimination all include language capacity of our institutions to learn from each other,” he said. from previous Parliamentary Assembly declarations. He offered “Democracy is a work in progress.” the Assembly as a resource to ambassadors working on drafting Mr. Mecacci was supported in his work in Vienna by Deputy language for the Ministerial Council in Vilnius, highlighting Director for Field Operations Roberto Montella and Research the “wealth of substance, legitimacy, and intellectual capacity Fellow Dante Mazzari. [that] exists in the Parliamentary Assembly.” His full speech is available online at www.oscepa.org.

For further information: Secretary General R. Spencer Oliver, Director of Communications Neil Simon, E-mail [email protected] or Editorial Director Nat Parry, E-mail [email protected], Tel: +45 33 37 80 40, Fax: +45 33 37 80 30.